Chapter 23

Elara

"Rhys, is everything okay? Why'd you stop?" I asked when Rhys slowed down to a stop suddenly in the middle of the woods.

He held out a hand to stop me from moving before he began walking down a path. Ignoring his signal to wait, I began following him, wondering if he had heard something that I had missed. I was about to call out to him again, when the scent wafted to my nose, almost freezing me in place.

It had been months since I had last smelled the scent, but I would recognize it anywhere in the world. It was my best friend, Naya. My world seemed to tilt on its axis and blood pounded in my ears, my senses honing in on the fading scent.

It felt like the world had paused, and without another thought, I sprinted forward. I could hear Rhys call out for me, his voice filled with worry, but I didn't stop. The scent grew stronger with every step, leading me deeper into the woods. Branches whipped at my face the deeper I went, but I didn't mind, and I pushed on, driven by the overwhelming need to find my friend.

And then, there she was.

Naya was motionless on the forest floor. Her skin was pale and clammy, and her eyes were shut tight in a way that made my heart skip a beat as I feared the worst. I moved to kneel beside her, my hands trembling as I reached out to touch her, and a gasp escaped my lips when my fingers brushed against her cold skin.

"Sweetheart, you need to get away from her. Come on, we don't know what could be crawling through the woods, or who could have done this. I need to take you back so I can handle this properly," Rhys said as he caught up with me, but I shook my head, tears falling freely from my eyes.

"No." My voice was barely above a whisper.

"Elara…" Rhys began, but I shook my head again.

"She's my friend! I'm not leaving her here."

A flash of something flickered in Rhys' eyes, something I couldn't immediately decipher with the tears that were running down my face, but I was too focused on Naya to even give it much thought.

The world seemed to slow down as I tried to take in the extent of her injuries. There was a deep gash on her leg, and her left arm was held at an unnatural angle. Her skin was so pale, and the blood that stained her white dress had my heart pounding at the thought of the extent of her injuries.

"It's okay. Help is coming," Rhys reassured me, and I nodded, turning my attention back to the almost lifeless form of my best friend.

I could tell that she was still alive, but as I cradled her head in my lap, I knew that she was barely hanging on.

Soon, Kai and Rowan arrived with a flock of men, and Kai gently pulled me away from Naya, his hands firm and gentle. I still resisted. Naya needed me and I had to stay with her.

"Hey, hey, look at me, baby. She needs help, and she's not going to get it with you holding onto her right here. Anyah is waiting to attend to her back at the house and that's where you both need to be," Kai said softly to me, and I choked on my tears, burrowing into his warmth when he pulled me into a hug.

It was all my fault. If only I had taken her with me during my escape, we would have both been fine, and she wouldn't be on the verge of losing her life. I didn't want to imagine the kind of pain she could have gone through to be in such a delicate position, and I couldn't help the guilt that washed over me at her situation.

"We need to get back." I heard Rowan say, and I pulled away from Kai to see him and Rhys watching me with a sad expression in their eyes. Naya had been taken away and there were now several men scouting the area.

We made our way back to the pack house with Rowan and Kai holding onto me as we walked. Back at the pack house, I ignored Anyah's request not to be disturbed and pushed open the door to Naya's room, ignoring the guard's call for me to wait.

"How is she? Is she going to be okay? Will she make it?" I immediately asked as I entered the room, and although Anyah looked displeased with my interruption, she nodded her head at my question before responding to me.

"She's badly injured, but she's mostly dehydrated and weak. I've given her something to break her fever, so I just need to clean and dress her wounds. We can hope that she'll be okay," Anyah assured me, and I swallowed heavily, my heart beating fast as I watched Anyah work.

I watched as Anyah cleaned her wounds and applied healing herbs, my heart breaking when Anyah pulled off her clothes to reveal even more injuries scattered across her body, some of which needed to be stitched closed.

My mind was whirling with the possibilities of how she ended up in her situation, and I sent a prayer to the Moon Goddess to bring her back alive. Kai held onto me, and his comforting fingers on the small of my back rubbing little circles helped to keep me grounded. Rhys and Rowan were also present in the room, and they stood to the side of me, whispering comforting words and occasionally reaching out to touch me, a gesture that I appreciated so much, but it still wasn't enough to quell the raging storm inside me.

"She's going to be fine. It's obvious that whatever she's been through has been quite an experience so I do expect her to be out for some time. I'll be back to check on her again in the morning but if she wakes up at any point, you should make her drink some water and I'll leave some medicine to help her cope with the pain," Anyah said as she finally finished, pulling out some vials to place on the nightstand beside the bed.

We thanked Anyah and she offered us a smile before leaving the room. I immediately moved out of Kai's arms and in the direction of the bed that held Naya, pulling out the chair that was against the dresser so I could sit close and watch over her.

"She might not be waking up soon, baby. You need to rest yourself. Come on, let's go to my room. Anyah has done her best and she has assured me that your friend will be fine. You can come check on her again later," Rhys said quietly to me, but I had already begun shaking my head before he could complete the rest of the sentence.

"Anyah said she could wake up at any time. I need to be here when she does. She'll be scared and all alone in an unfamiliar place, and she'll be in pain and will have no way to reach me," I responded, raising my eyes to the three of them all standing at the end of the bed with the same worried expression etched on their faces.

I knew that they had questions, but at the moment, I didn't feel possible to give them the explanations that they wanted.

Rowan moved closer to me, and he looked like he was about to try to convince me to leave again, but I shook my head to stop him.

"I need to stay here with her, Rowan. I'll be fine. I'll let one of you know if I need anything and if she wakes up," I explained and they shared a look amongst themselves, but thankfully they didn't try to convince me otherwise. Instead, they each placed a kiss on my lips before making their way out of the room.

Once the door was shut, I took Naya's fingers in mine. Her hands were so cold that it made me shiver slightly.

"What happened, Naya? How did you end up in this situation? Please come back to me. I'm sorry for leaving you," I said all at once, my words choking on a sob. I knew that she probably couldn't hear me, but I wanted nothing more than answers to all the questions that were currently running through my mind. I wanted to know that she was okay.

The days that followed were a blur of antiseptic, hushed whispers, and endless worry. It seemed like my world shrank to the confines of Naya's room. Naya continued to lay in a coma, her body pale and still, a stark contrast to the vibrant, fiery woman that I knew. The scent of blood that had surrounded her when we first found her was now faded and it was replaced by the sterile tang of medicine.

Rhys, Kai, and Rowan had been a constant presence, and their silent strength was a rock for me in the storm. I could see the concern and questions in their eyes every time they came into the room, but to their credit, they didn't try to push me for answers. I expected this particularly from Rowan and Rhys, especially since they were the ones who knew the situation with my past, but they only continued to offer support. They took turns bringing me food and changes of clothes since I refused to leave the room and Rhys even brought me books to keep me busy.

Anyah came to check on Naya every day and she assured that she was fine and just needed to snap out of the sleep that she had fallen into. I continued to sit by Naya's side day and night, watching her closely. Her wounds were healing properly and most of the bruises had even begun to fade, but she remained unconscious.

Then, one morning, I was trying to clean Naya like I usually did every day when her eyes fluttered open. A gasp escaped my lips as I leaned forward, my heart pounding in my ears. Naya's eyes, once filled with a fiery spirit, were now dull and clouded with confusion.

"Naya?" I whispered, my voice trembling.

Naya's gaze slowly focused on me, and I saw the recognition flicker in her eyes before a wave of pain washed over her face. She groaned, her hand reaching up to clutch at her head.

"Easy, Naya," I said softly, my voice filled with a mixture of relief and fear. "You're safe now. You're with me," I reassured her, quickly reaching out to grab the vial that Anyah had left her for pain before helping her sit up. I fed her the contents of the bottle that Anyah had left us.

Naya's eyes squeezed shut, and my heart broke when a tear escaped her eye. When she opened her eyes again, her gaze was cleared and more focused and a weak smile curved her lips.

"Elara," she whispered, her voice hoarse.

Tears of relief streamed down my face as she leaned forward, and I hugged her as gently as I could without hurting her.

"I'm here, Naya," I murmured, my voice thick with emotion. "I'm here."

We held onto each other for what felt like an eternity, the world fading away as we clung to the comfort of our reunion. When we finally pulled apart, Naya's eyes were filled with different new emotions, fear being the dominant among them.

"What happened?" Naya asked, her voice still shaky and weak.

I took a deep breath, picking up the bottle of water that was sitting on the nightstand to offer it to her. "You were found unconscious at the edge of this territory. You've been in a coma for days."

Naya's eyes widened in shock. "Days?"

I nodded, my throat tight. "Days. But you're awake now. That's all that matters."

Naya looked around the room, her gaze landing on the medical equipment that Anyah had hooked her up to over the last couple of days. "Where am I?" she asked.

"You're at the Golden Moon pack house. I know the Alphas here," I replied. "You're safe here, I promise."

Naya nodded slowly, as she looked like she was trying to process all the information. I knew it wasn't the right time and she needed to rest more. I also had to tell Kai, Rowan, and Rhys about her regaining consciousness, but I was itching to know how she had found her way here. I wanted to know how she had managed to escape Silas and about the injuries on her body.

"What happened, Naya?" I asked, and Naya quickly looked away, her face contorting in pain at my question.

After a long moment of silence, she looked at me again and I could see the tears running down from her eyes. I quickly reached out a finger to wipe them away and Naya gave me a grateful smile.

"After you left, Silas held me prisoner. He knows we've been best friends for a long time and thought I might have an idea about what your escape plans would have been. For weeks after that, he tortured me constantly…" she trailed off, her voice breaking as the words caught in her throat, and my heart ached even more knowing I had brought this upon my friend.

"It went on for so long, I thought the end would never come. I lost track of time as the days and the nights began to feel like one to me in that cell. One of the guards made a mistake though. He thought I was too weak and broken, and so he took off my necklace when I begged him for help, saying that it was choking me and I couldn't breathe. It was only supposed to be for a moment, but I knew if I didn't act soon, then Silas would slowly torture me to my death. So I used my powers. I made him release me and clear the path for me, and then I escaped. I remember just running and running and running…until…nothing." Her voice was barely a whisper when she finished talking and it shattered me completely, making me pull her into my arms again.

A hum began at the base of my spine, a familiar sensation that I hadn't felt since my escape. It was the Siren in me, awakening from its slumber. Something was triggering it. But I ignored it, focusing instead on the relief of having Naya back.

I pulled away from the hug, squeezing Naya's hand. "It's okay, Naya. You don't have to think about any of that right now. Just focus on getting better."

I had been trained as a Siren for years. I was a master of deception, even though I knew that I would never practice that dark magic ever again. I knew the signs of a lie, the subtle nuances of body language and tone.

My heart was aching, and I knew that Naya could only be telling the truth. After all, I had seen the damage that Silas had done to her body, but a nagging doubt still crept into my mind.